no promises that i won’t big league you if i see you there (i’m just that important:)

last week was finals, but i somehow snuck in a book or two (i’m just that good:)

“the total tragedy of a girl named hamlet” – i wanted to like this book – it just didn’t work out – i rooted for the wrong guy in the book (the good guy for the girl was apparently the won that just boldly kissed her and made her “feel it” – the quiet one that was her friend??? yeah, he’s out in the dark now…)

“mystic bat” – again, i pulled hard for the book – i lost – even a book about baseball – it was just that kind of week

the kids and i have an origami e-book now to keep us company – “origami x” by robinson – all the way through until the summer – i think the book is designed for smaller kids, but even bigger ones can too be flummoxed by how poorly they play with paper:)

i’m off to start crying some more tears about the students that will be leaving me – and those that left so long ago…

maf

happy finals week – remember, sixth grade – no more blogging for grades – i mean it – don’t even try – i won’t approve them… 🙂

“fire in the ashes” – a former teacher, current teacher advocate, wrote about the kids he wrote about for years – in other words, after spending years working with young kids and now 20-ish years down the road, how did those kids turn out??? it was a fascinating read from my POV because basically, there was no way to tell who was going to succeed, who would fail – a lot was based on how the kids responded and what they were asked to respond to – very good reminder that a “success” story isn’t always college an a billion dollar job – it’s a kid that grows up to be a man and treat others with respect

“the yearling” – i didn’t think i had read the book and i always feel bad assigning books that i haven’t read so i went back and committed to it – and then discovered a few paragraphs in that i had read the book – probably in my childhood b/c i could remember a few things but not all 400 pages – as a summary, it was good – it didn’t win the newbery, it won the pulitzer in ’38 – so an adult award for its writing – the dialect is classic – the backwoods south the writer captures doesn’t exist any more – so that’s cool to experience – when you read a book like that, you realize how similar most books are that you’re currently reading

“remarkable” – new book – ungifted kid living in a gifted town – a mystery – pirates – a science fair dance – cute book – to the author’s credit, she doesn’t make the main character realize that she’s actually brilliant – the character stays “sort of” average – the gifted people are ego-centric and not favorable, to say the least – again, cute book

“mulberry street” – i read this to my write in the middle folk friday – we used it to rock at the festival – our stories should be collected and published – in other news, i walked them to death on the campus…

“sweetness” – oh, what a sad book – the life of an NFL great – walter payton – who died too early – who strayed so far from who he was at 20 – reading his story makes you aware that if the who you are at 18, 20, etc. is good, you shouldn’t start running after different things when your circumstances change (are we reading this tiger woods???)

happy finals week,

maf

sniff…

(like i won’t be journaling next week anyway)

“the showdown at shepherd’s bush” – wow, what a book – if i had time, we’d detour this week in eighth grade land to talk about how to research a topic – b/c this book was researched – researched better than just about anything i can ever recall (as far as page-by-page sourced) – great book for runners to boot!!!

“one shot at forever” – sports illustrated writer – high school illinois team in 1971 were runners up for the state title – sort of like hoosiers – a one-division format – so it’s the story of how a small town does something that big – even with a (wonderful) hippie english teacher/coach – but also the story of the life afterward – and how you live with disappointment if you’re driven to overachieve – great, entertaining read

“the glory field” – myers classic – loved it – i told you so this week in class so i don’t have to repeat that

creative piece (meant to mimic the tendency for these not to be creative but just for you to journal about your life – like i care…) – so there was this guy who teaches who decided to go to a “singles” mixer at his church – and he barely made it in the door before his first obstacle: the name tag – apparently, it was booby-trapped – he couldn’t get the tag to pull of it’s backing – so he could stick it on himself – he could see the lady behind the desk, in charge, thinking something like “poor thing – no wonder he married – he can’t even get a name tag on himself”…

(that was actually the high point – it went downhill from there…)

happy last week – maf

may your may days be bright…

“save the cat” – screenwriting 101 – few good ideas – mostly just recycled things – because, as you know, most movies are recycled anyway…

“out of the silent planet” by lewis – cs lewis – narnia fame – ransom, the narrator, a teacher, is captured and taken to a whole new world – actually, a better world – unlike ours – that’s uncommunicative, silent, with the rest of the world b/c our prince is a fallen angel – a reread for me – i liked the series the first time – this read was good too

“five chiefs” by john paul stevens – former supreme court justice – his memories of five chief justices he met/worked for – lots of laws and decisions he mentioned that aren’t in the top 10 that i typically read about (marbury v. madison, dred scott, brown vs. board, ny times v. sullivan, miranda, etc.) – i fell in and out of “getting” all that stevens wrote – above me at times – but great book – and good point about originalists (those that always want to know what the “founders” would’ve done – stevens points out that laws are for the living – even the founders believed this – and i think it rings true)

“hunger games” – and finally, there’s this book i’d heard about… okay, before i mislead a sixth grader, let me assure you that i heard about the book months before it ever came out, and i read it years ago – so a reread – enough time that i’d forgotten small details (that katniss came from the appalachian mountains – so it makes since that she’s a volunteer)

what’s to like about the “games”??? how about that it reads quickly – which i hope you do this week as you finish your next-to-last journals

maf

i’m done reading – it’s time to be brain dead and watch people run… 🙂

i read four books this week – i’ll be brief on two and take more time with what i enjoyed

“the writer’s journey” – motifs in movies – and how this “genius” movie guy figured them out

“the book” – baseball stats that prove traditional theory wrong – like, never bunt (or not usually) – and bat your pitcher eighth

“imperfect” by jim abbott – this book was awesome – very recommendable for a middle school kid – gifted – disabled – guy – girl – sports or no – just great (we’re journalling next week about it) – anyway, abbott writes about the issues we all face in life – who are we – what will we be known for – and he’s pretty good at helping us along that trail – again, great book

“the big miss: my years coaching tiger woods” by hank haney – i liked this book b/c it talked about how you coach a gifted athlete – a driven athlete – good insight into tiger’s world – haney obviously wrote it to protect his rep (you can tell criticism gets under his skin) but the whole issue of trying to figure out tiger made the book an easy read for me

reading cs lewis’s sci-fi series right now while i wait for something new – hope your journals and reading is fun this week

maf

yes, the annual blog where i wish everyone a holiday no one but bostonians celebrate

(go trent and trey’s mom tomorrow as she runs the streets of boston)

“Last Hunger Season” by Thurow – read on the nook last week – excellent all-ages account of the fight to end hunger in Kenya – western Kenya still has a “hunger season” where families have to make choices like starve or send money to the school so that they’re kids can go to school – amazing – and sad – makes you want to support US efforts to help – great, great read

“Rafa” by Nadal – he’s a tennis player – pretty successful one (like first to win 10 slams by 24) – he probably talked the book out to a writer in spanish – so the differences in language – much less culture – is pretty interesting – reminded me of the beckham book i read – international stars seem to be more down to earth than american ones – it’s surprising to find that out – anyway, nadal was done with school at like 16, but he’s full of insight and wisdom – not to mention guts (i love running and seeing a five-hour tennis match – that’s a marathon match indeed)

remember, the seventh grade has a wonderful book “we love parades” now available at your friendly online bookstore to purchase and enjoy

sincerely,

mafeld

so, yes, it’s resurrection day – and yes, you still don’t have to blog – you, my friends, MUST NEEDS TEST!!!

(evil laugh)

yes, try and stress hugely b/c your life hinges on these big huge tests that you will take next week

(sarcasm pause)

so, i guess this gives me free reign of the blog this week since no one will read – olive-a – it was a blessing to get your addendum to the last blog – glad that you’re reading hunger games – as a guy, or rather, as a “Mr. Mayfield” guy that seems to miss every relational cue, i totally missed that the love triangle that i suppose makes this series loveable to all – i, in contrast, found the first book terrible – i thought katniss was an awful character b/c she was selfish – true to only herself and not willing to sacrifice herself – like peeta was

now, thankfully, the series got better for me – and in a wonderful display of irony and total contempt upon her audience “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places,”  i think my YA group was totally dissastified with the ending – that there wasn’t a big wedding – a big love fest – instead, the series ends like life does – messy, but with hopeful linings if you look for them

and that leads me to the lone book i read this week (i read some publications – christianity today, SI, espn the mag, sabr, the economist, etc…)

“for the love of the game” by sl price – mike coolbaugh, 35-ish year old first base coach, in 2007 is hit in the neck with a line drive foul ball and dies instantly in a minor league game – the book tells his story, his family’s story, the story of the guy that hit the ball – even others around – terrible event – disrupted life forever for many – and the book is one of the darker books that i’ve ever read because price didn’t try to find some silver lining at the end to neatly wrap it all up – it obviously makes you wonder about how you spend your days – and whether you tell those around you often enough that you love them b/c you just never know when your days are done…

so, in hopes that the ARMT kills you all:)

LOVE!!!

maf

happy first week of baseball – and last week before testing

i finished spring break up with the book “lombardi” by manariss – nonfiction about the coach of the green bay packers – the guy didn’t get a head coaching job until his 40s – so good story about hanging in there when the breaks don’t go your ways – sad book with his family (he wasn’t the best dad)

i then moved to “the best i can be” by rafer johnson – gold medalist at the ’60 games – wonderful, encouraging story about overcoming – from race to depression to the little things that bump up in a sporting event – would love for you all to read this book

then, on to the electronic kind – “portrait of pacifists” – wonderful complement to anne frank’s diary (for those of you that have read it) – a french town during wwii helped keep jews from the nazis – and this pastor and his wife helped – they hated war, all wars, and yet felt compelled to do something b/c of the nazis – but rather than fight, they used non-violence (which is a form of fighting – guess we just never think of it that way) – enlightening story i never knew about

remember to get in a good testing pattern early – so start getting those breakfast foods ready for your nutritional needs:)

maf

just out of a marathon session of “The Muppets” dvd watching:)

(that’s my way of saying “Happy release of ‘The Muppets’ week” – otherwise known to you as “Happy Hunger Games Week”)

lots of reading – and I’m late anyway – so here goes…

“bill veeck” by paul dickinson – great autobio on a baseball owner – i actually read one on the guy when I was ya’lls age – which was years ago and why a new one needed to be done – veeck was prominent when robinson integrated baseball – which was important in the country – so veeck’s interest in the phillies particularly made the book good

“stan musial” – the author makes the point that stan has been overlooked as a great baseball player – one of the rare guys that has been dimished through the years just b/c he was the “swell” guy in the 1950s and 60s – really good -defended thesis – and sad that musial now suffers from dementia

“creating comics from start to finish” – book about breaking into comics as a job – good recap of all the roles – and then about the creative process – i’m out of my league with the artistry of those guys – but entertaining reading while you wait for (more) car repairs to your volvo:)

“bullpen gospels” by hayhurst – former big league player describes a year in double-a – and describes it more realistically than anything i’ve read – excellent book – although, you’d want to put it down many times b/c of the things young boys do in their 20s to each other – makes me glad i’m out of baseball

finally, reread “the scarlett letter” – third time through – oh, what a wonderful book – redemption – grace – forgiveness – bitterness – magic – love – there are just too many issues addressed – but i love them all – and love the book – probably my favorite of all time right now

enjoy the break

maf

wow, it’s all coming to a close for the third time this year…

i guess since i didn’t have to study like ya’ll (sarcasm insert here), i had plenty of time to read – i mean, what else was i going to do – create a wonderful final??? so here’s the list…

“the paladin prophecy” by mark frost – comes out in september – and will be a WONDERFUL series – if for no other reason than because it’s about xc – or rather, that cross country is included:) anyway, enjoyable

“our time” by scott illiano – high school coach – encouraging read about how to coach, how to teach (i guess just b/c that guy’s experience has been so bad with parents:)

“running” – genre-breaking book about emil zapatek – famous czech runner – originally in french – amazing story – emil was an amazing runner

“a cold, clear day” – bio on a US 1960s marathoner – buddy elphon – the guy went to london and taught and ran 130-mile weeks to become an elite athlete – held the marathon record in 1963 – at a time when the US had no distance runners – sort of a good read on going against the trend

happy studying

maf